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Strong plastic and lots of variation of foods.

I bought my little grandson a play shopping trolley a few years ago which has served us well and still going strong. We used to have play food but have lost quite a few items and I wanted to buy some play food to replace the lost items and also to have more items to place into the trolley now my little granddaughter plays with it and has tended to be more interested in it than my grandson was at the same age. I spotted this larger pack of food so decided to buy it.The food comes inside a cardboard box, there are 104 food items and the items are plastic and they are really brightly coloured items. The plastic is quite sturdy plastic but they do tend to bend a little bit but that isn't an issue because my granddaughter does take really good care of her toys.

There are pieces of fruit and vegetables, 19 vegetables and 16 fruits. There is a chicken leg, burger2 sausages and meat. There are bakery and canned foods. 2 ice cream cones and a box of French fries. Also there are 12 cardboard boxes which come flat packed and so have to be put together which is very easy to do. There are also bottles of sauce, and lots of different food items we all buy weekly such as milk and orange juice.All of the items look like real foods we buy at the supermarket and a good size. All brightly coloured and also the boxes of food have the name on the front which a child may recognise. These foods are ideal for placing inside a child's shopping trolley for them to push around the home or garden. These items don't fall through my grandchildren's trolley, they fit extremely well.

This pack of food is ideal for the little ones to role play and to play shops and are really good to use if your child also owns a till. My grandchildren have a till and my little grandson and myself often play shops and I have to pay for my items lol.Are ideal for a child to just role play in a playhouse and want to use the fruit and vegetables etc for a meal they are cooking. My grandchildren have a toy kitchen and these items are fabulous for them to play cook with the kitchen.

Because there are so many items in the pack it means the children can share them with their friends or siblings and all have some of the items each and hopefully share them and swap lol. One child could be the fruit and vegetable shop and the other a supermarket, and maybe one could be a burger van. I have often got the short straw and been the burger van assistant wearing an apron lol.They are a sturdy plastic and can last a long time. They don't really hurt a child if they are throw at them if the children don't play nicely, the plastic is soft enough not to mark a child even though it is a strong plastic it isn't hard surfaced. They are very lightweight items.

They are designed for children 3 years and over.I paid just £9.99 for the 104 items and I think this is extremely good value for the price and the amount of food variety. I think they are also a good quality plastic and not flimsy. I bought it from Argos.

These would make an ideal Christmas present from Santa or for a birthday gift or just a treat for the little ones. They are so affordable and will last a very long time if taken care of the food.The box doesn't look like it holds 104 items but because the boxes are flat packed they all fit nicely inside the box and not a huge box if you are maybe wanting to buy it to post to a loved one and not cost too much to send through the post.

I highly recommend this food pack, I don't think you would be disappointed in all of the items and the vast choice of food. It will entertain a child for a good few hours playing with them and doing their role play.

Also appears on Ciao under my username pinky50.

I give this food pack 5 stars.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it has been of some help.

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short lived fun..

Christmas 2011 - we purchased a trolley and till set for our 3 and a half year old son. The trolley came supplied with a few bits of play food but we decided to make a purchase of a play food set to increase how many items he had.

*~Chad Valley Play Food Set~*

'Have fun making meals for friends and family with all your favourite foods!'

This 104 piece play set is offered by toy company Chad Valley. It is suitable for children over the age of 3 years due to small parts and there are various warnings to that effect. It should be played with under adult supervision! The play food is presented in a colourful, cardboard box and some of the play food is in little bags inside the box.

This set does have some duplicate food items but to give and idea of the range within the box, there is plenty of fruit and veg, canned foods, bottles and paper boxes. The play food all have unknown brand names or are loose items. The idea behind this set is to encourage imaginative play and to allow your child to identify different food types.

This play set is available from Argos priced at £9.99. It is part of a long running toy promotion - 2 for £15.00.

*~Our Thoughts~*

We purchased this set shortly after Christmas as my sons trolley looked empty! He developed an obsession with supermarkets and anything associated with supermarkets hence the purchase. I trust Chad Valley as a brand so was happy to pay £10 for this set.

On removing the food from the box, everything is very colourful and the perfect miniature size for pre-schoolers to play around with. We have kept the box to store some food in as there is too much for the trolley to handle without overflowing. The little boxes require some assembly. They aren't the most secure boxes when assembled and do get bashed easily - we have thrown many out so far.

*~Dinnertime!~*

I feel the range of food in this set is acceptable for the price but nothing outstanding. The different colours are certainly attractive to a child. The majority of the play food is made from textured plastic which is of a decent quality but very squishy in most cases. The bulk of the set is loose food types including burger buns, grapes, orange segments and 2 part ice cream cones - they all look realistic.

The tins and cans are also made from plastic and the labels are printed onto the plastic. They do look a bit dated especially the cake mixes and the milk cartons. The set is a little misleading as Pringle like crisps make up 24 items out of the 104 in the set. I can't help but feel Chad Valley have used these as 'fillers' and they get absolutely everywhere. They are too thin as well and slip through the spaces in the Chad Valley trolley we have.

For the first few months, these were well played with by my son and our nephew. There is enough items for a few children to play with and they had fun taking it in turns to play shops with the trolley, food and the till (complete with play money). They had a lot of fun deciding which items to put in their trolley and take to the till to pay for.

The play food is also suitable for toy kitchens and the likes so is quite versatile. Whilst we do not have a toy kitchen in our home, my son has always enjoyed creating a pretend dinner party for Mummy and Daddy. I even woke up to breakfast in bed one day though of course, not the edible kind! Each item is very realistic in appearance and texture. They are all easy to identify and my son has no issues with naming the different fruits and veg and they aren't overly complex. Don't expect any sushi or exotic fruits here but if you are a fan of carrots and bananas you will be satisfied!

*~Conclusion~*

This play food set is a good starting point for imaginative play but I find it most suited to play kitchens and my son doesn't pay much attention to it anymore after owning it for nearly 6 months. The quality of the set is good but not up to really rough play as some of the more fragile items have been damaged. I agree 3 years is good age recommendation for this type of set as children may try to put the realistic food in their mouth. Luckily my son is supervised and doesn't put anything like this in his mouth anyway.

4 stars

Thanks for reading :)

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A good play food set!

My daughter received her first play kitchen on her last birthday but it didn't come with any food, I wanted to buy some play food that was cheap and of a good quality, my first thought was Argos, so I got the catalogue out and found this 104 piece play food set.

~* What is it? *~

This set contains 104 pieces of a variety of food. The set contains both cardboard and plastic food.

The cardboard boxes come flat packed but it doesn't take much effort to assemble to boxes with most of them already is a flat shape all you have to do is spread it out and insert the tab at each end. I would estimate that around 1/5 of the 104 pieces are cardboard boxes. Some of the items in boxes are milk cartons, cereal and raisin boxes.

The plastic food comes ready assembled, bar the scoop of ice-cream that sits in a cone and some fries which sit in a cardboard sleeve. Most pieces resemble what they are actually meant to be which is a bonus compared with some other cheap play food available. There are about 20 plastic pringle type crisps with each single crisp representing 1 of the 104 pieces so the amount of food doesn't actually look like there are a lot of pieces altogether. Other plastic pieces of food include segments of orange, hotdogs, peas and tins.

~* Our experience *~

My daughter loves role playing with this food set. So much so, that a few of our food items have 'retired' where she has chewed on the plastic food and they have punctured and sort of deflated and ended up all squished and horrible. This is only the case with some of the items and others have stood up to my daughters chewing well as some are made from a more chunky, durable plastic. The cardboard boxes are still in a fantastic condition, to my surprise as I thought these would be the first to get ruined as some are made from a paper thin cardboard.

The different variety of foods is great, a lot of fruit and vegetables are included meaning my daughter can learn about good nutritional foods aswell as the not so good food. When she is 'cooking' my dinner, I often find myself with a plate of bizarre foods together, like a doughnut with peas and the like.

The size of the play food is just right, there are no small items that could cause a choking hazard and not too big that they would be hard for younger children to grasp. The items are all roughly about the same size at about 4cm in length, but obviously as they are different foods, all have different widths and heights etc.

This food is quite versatile, although I bought it to go with her kitchen so that she could cook with it, it also features in shopping role play activities with her shopping trolley and till, pretending to scan all of the shopping. My daughter often cooks little tea parties for her dollies and teddy bears, giving each one it's own plate of cooked food, and making them cups of tea with the carton of milk. The possibilities are endless.

Storing this play food could be quite difficult. For us, when the food isn't in play, we keep it in the shopping trolley, and it just about all fits in if the trolley isn't in use, as it piles up quite high and the slightest knock could send a lot of it flying across the room. So keeping the box it comes packaged in could be a good idea to store it away nicely.

*~ Product information *~

I purchased this 104 piece play food set from Argos as part of their mix and match two toys for £15. It can be bought separately for £9.99. It can be found in store and online. It's suitable for children aged 3 and over, but I personally think it is ok for younger children with no very small parts to cause a choking hazard.

~* Overall *~

I would definitely recommend this play food set, although the quality isn't amazing and a few of our pieces have squished already, what more could you ask for when, really, I only paid £7.50 for it. My daughter loves her play food set!

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A great toy for role play

After buying my son the play trolley and receiving lots of cardboard in it I decided I would buy him a plastic set of food to play with his shop. You receive 104 food pieces a few are cardboard but only about 10 so to be honest these went in to the recycling bin as previous experience with these proved they were not of great quality.The rest of the set was made of plastic and just what I was looking for something that would last with a two year old child.

The set includes a wide range of food including chips, milk bottles, chicken fruit and vegetables. The remaining foods are molded of plastic making them very durable to younger children's quite rough play at times. We have had our for around a year now and they are still of good quality and well played with. They love to sit with me and separate the foods into there different food groups so are also a good aid for teaching what are vegetables fruit meat etc.This toy is perfect for encouraging role play and as it can be used as a shop scene it also helps with number and teaching children basic concepts of money.My son and daughter like to play with this set and when my niece and nephew come round they also find it fun to play and they are a little older and 6 and 7.

The only problem I have with this toy is there is nothing to store them in but I have managed to buy a reusable bag to store them in but for £9.99 they represent brilliant value so this is not too off putting.Age recommendation is 3 + but my son had it since he was 2 and as there are no small parts I did not see any problem with this. I purchased it in the 2 for £15 offer at Argos and it is available for £9.99 on its own.

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A lovely little set, unfortunately won't last forever, but nothing does with my two lol!

My twin sons turned 3 recently and as usual I spoilt them rotten. Knowing they enjoy role playing I went on the search for kitchens and kitchen sets, but to make these sets complete I needed to get them food too.

Although the toy kitchen my mum bought the twins came with some food it didn't come with a lot but I soon came across a food set in the Argos catalogue.

The Chad Valley 104 Piece play food set can be found in the Argos catalogue for just £9.99 a set or on the 2 for £15 offer (December 2010).

Some food sets you can buy can be of decent quality, and you obviously pay the price for this, especially from the likes of ELC, Toys R Us etc who offer things such as 'sliced pizza' or 'cake' which comes attached by velcro and includes a cutter for your child to 'slice' them into pieces. This set however is a lot cheaper and simpler than this.

The set comes packaged neatly in a cardboard box with a picture of the food set on the front. Within the box you have your various pieces off plastic food and flattened cardboard boxes within sealed plastic bags. The 'flat' cardboard boxes are very thin cardboard and resemble things such as cereal boxes or raisin boxes, they can be easily put together though as they have their fold lines so you know where to fold and tuck in the base and the lid of the box. Although it is easy to put these together into a box resembling some sort of food box it is just as easy to flatten them or rip them apart so these boxes have literally lasted the twins 2 minutes. I have bought other food items which include boxes which have to be folded into place and they have been made with thicker cardboard and they are still going strong, well just about anyway. So these boxes are cheap, thin and won't last very long at all.

The rest of the food is plastic pieces and are ready to play with. The set includes things such as a chicken leg, peas, green beans, fries, ice cream cones and ice cream 'tops', crisps, hotdog sausages, hot dog rolls, burgers and rolls, tinned foods. These pieces of food are moulded brilliantly they resemble the real thing well and I certainly get given some lovely looking meals to eat lol! Although the pieces of food are 'sort of' durable (for a cheap set anyway) and can be wiped clean easily with a wipe they can also be squished and squashed and flattened if played with too heavy handedly or if stepped on.

The 104 piece naming of the set though is a bit deceiving to say the least as the 'crisps' I mentioned act as individual pieces of the set, yes each crisp is 1 of the 104 pieces. Also the ice cream cones and 'tops' I mentioned act as 2 parts, the ice cream cone being 1 piece and the scoop that fits within the cone is the 2nd part.

I can't moan too much about this though as the twins are having great fun with the set, creating some wild and wonderful, or not so wonderful, meals for me to eat, mmm yummy! I wasn't expecting fantastic quality, and I would buy the set again if I had too even if every piece was squashed in the old set, as it's all so realistic and a child can easily recognise each piece of food. But for review purposes, if somebody was looking to buy this particular set it is worth noting the points about the 'boxes' and the fact that it isn't the best quality, but for £9.99, I think it's a wonderful little set of food that can help create some magical roleplaying moments for children.

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Okay as a starter kit, but better quality is out there, for a price

My daughter, like many little girls, has a toy kitchen in her bedroom . Her kitchen didn't come with a lot of food when purchased (in fact, although it came with various utensils, the only food included was two portions of chips) so I decided I would top up the food every time I had a spare few quid.

As well as buying a few quality individual items - the sliceable pizza from ELC comes to mind, I also decided to buy a cheap bumper pack of food to bulk it out quite quickly, and paid 9.99 for this 104 piece set from Argos.

Arriving in a sturdy cardboard box (which might be worth retaining for storing the play food if you have nowhere else) the food was then divided into two see through plastic bags. I was glad that this was the extent of the packaging, as many products I have purchased before have been over wrapped, or stuffed with polystyrene beads, resulting in a mess of packaging that then became an issue to recycle. Most of the food is then ready to play with right away, although the cardboard packets do need a little assembly - mainly just slotting tabs into holes, easily doable by an older child, but parents may need to help with younger children. There are 12 such boxes to assemble, and the card is a little thin and flimsy - sensing that these particular items would not last long given the amount of bashing they were likely to recieve from my daughter and her friends, I elected to only construct two of them at a time, replacing them with others as and when needed .

The rest of the set is made of plastic . There was a good mix of items, but I found that the claim to have 104 pieces was a little misleading, as the two part ice creams had each part counted as an item . It's not really like anyone eats the cone just on it's own is it ? Although, the fact that the ice cream itself was seperate did enable it to be served up as scoops in a bowl .

I do feel however, that counting each of the 24 crisps as an individual item was a bit of a cheek . Who eats a single crisp in a sitting ?

The rest is a good mix though - fruit and veg, some tinned goods, a bottle of oil, some cakes, a chicken leg, a burger, pizza , sausages, and something I think is supposed to be meat . Personally, if I were to be really picky, I would have liked a little more variety, and the inclusion of some other foods - fish fingers, perhaps a whole fish, maybe a chicken . But, you get what you pay for at 9.99.

The quality is not great . Whilst other play food sets (admittedly much more expensive) that I have purchased have been solid, and able to withstand toddler bites, being stamped on, being thrown etc, these are made of thin, air filled plastic, and will dent, scratch, and dirty easily. As each of the pieces has a small hole in it, presumably from the moulding process, washing these often leaves a little water inside, which I really dislike as it just seems unhygeinic. In addition, when stood on (as my daughter inevitably leaves all this on her floor) the items just get squished and dented, and no amount of poking and prodding will make them look new again . This has resulted in several items being damaged to the point of uselessness and thrown away .

The cardboard boxed items - cereals and the like - have not stood the test of time, being flattened to within a inch of their lives very quickly . I find the inclusion of these items rather silly if I'm honest - I have plenty of old cereal boxes at home, so why pay for mocked up ones ?

With all my moaning out of the way though, my daughter does enjoy playing with these, cooking up meals with her friends and all pretending to eat them . For sheer bulk of items, this kit is good value for money, and certainly as a started set to go along with a new play kitchen I would recommend it . However, I do think it lacks durability, and damages easily, and if you want a toy that will last for ages, in terms of quality as well as enjoyment of play, I would recommend spending a little more on individual items, and building up your food collection gradually .

4 stars - a good kit, at a good price, but lacking a little in quality .

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chad valley 104 piece play food set which includes fruit and vegetables

I got this chad valley play food set as part of my sons 3rd birthday as he loves pretending he is making mummy and daddy dinner so I thought he would really like this set as it has 104 pretend food items. I bought it as part of a 2 for £15 offer in argos but to buy it separately it would cost you £9.99.

The food comes packaged in a clear plastic bag and concealed within a box which is easy to open unlike a lot of toys these days. The pretend boxes of food such as pretend rice krispies and popcorn need to be assembled but this only takes a matter of minutes to do them all. The only down side with this is that I have found they don't really stay together very well so I have put a small bit of celotape on some of them to help keep them joined. Some of the food which is included in this set is fruit, vegetables and two ice cream cones which is my sons favourite part of it. All the food is made from plastic so is sturdy and after 5months all my sons food is still in tact.

The age suitability is for 3years and over but my niece also has this set and she has done since she was 2 so I think younger kids could use this set as well. As my son loves pretending he is making food for lunches and dinners he thinks this set is great because it has so much choice for him. This set is great for encouraging imaginative play as if your child is like mine they will come up with loads of different dishes for you to choose from for your meal. Also it has helped to teach my son about different vegetables and fruits which he has not tryed before.

A great buy and well worth the money. Definitely recommend it.

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-

My daughter loves playing shop games. She has a little till and she likes nothing more than being the checkout girl and putting through all the shopping. She wanted some more food to go with her little till set and we put it on her Christmas list last year.

She ended up getting this Chad Valley set which conatins 104 pieces of food. It cost £9.99 from Argos but was part of their 2 for £15 offer so only cost £7.50. It is still available as part of this offer.

The food comes in a fairly sized light green box with a picture of the contents on the front and what is written on it. Inside the box the food is contained in a plastic bag. When you get it all out (or tip it out as my daughter did) you see that there is a wide variety of different food. Mostly it is all made out of plastic but there are a couple of pieces which are made out of cardboard. These are slightly flimsy and if you step on them by accident then the only place they are fit for is the bin sadly,

Some of the food that you get is as follows: Ice cream cones, grapes, hot dog, doughtnuts, tin of tuna, milk, carrot, pizzas, cookies, corn on the cob, pringles, water melon, ketchup...the list is really endless. Though you should be aware that each item counts as one - there are multiple pringles and each one of these counts towards the 104 pieces and I think there are about 10 of them which is a bit naughty from Chad Valley.

The plastic food is really durable and if it does get stepped on, dents are easily popped out. Like I said previously the cardboard ones are not very durable but my daughter has only lost one to the bin. She is fairly careful with them otherwise.

The food is really colourful too and it is all done properly. For example, the pizza has multiple toppings and it has been coloured correctly so that you can see the cheese, the olives, the pepperoni etc. Nothing has been done half heartedly which makes a nice surprise with things such as these.

All in all a really good buy which my daughter has plenty of fun with and has spent plenty of time playing with. Highly recommended.

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A good accessory for the imagination

This Chad Valley play food was bought for Jack by my mum a short while ago to go with his small shopping till he already had and also a tea party set which she had bought him a few months prior.

The Chad Valley Play food can be purchased at a few different places online but Mum purchased the one we have from Argos and it cost £9.99 pence but you can most definitely get it cheaper from another online retailer.

However I feel that this price is well worth the product you get as there are 104 different pieces of fresh and packaged food. The set contains so many different items that there are tons of possible play ideas including pretending to be a chef or a shop keeper (which is jack's preferred one as he like to operate his till).

Every bit of the set is brightly coloured and made to a good standard as far as plastic food goes. I remember this sort of thing from my childhood and this set does appear to be made of a better material and offers brighter more vibrant colours.

The plastic food although light in weight does still look rather good and realistic. There are so pieces which are of course better looking than others. My favourite item is the pieces of pizza as these are the best to role play with and to plate up and pretend to take a bite of!

In the set there are 12 cardboard boxes which are empty but have different designs on such as milk or cereal and these are the ones which take the most battering as Jack has more of less scrunched them up and trodden on them multiple times that it is difficult for them to look very life like any more.

The other items range from the pizza slices that I mentioned earlier, some bottles of ketchup which can be used alongside the sausages in hot dog buns or chips and for dessert you can choose from a croissant, doughnut or various pieces of fruit.

The set itself is really rather vast and to be honest I find these pieces of food everywhere and generally feel that 104 pieces is a little too much more any child!

I would highly recommend these toy foods as they do represent good value for money and have so many play opportunities. They are all pretty much made of a good standard and are realistic in the fact that I know exactly what each piece is supposed to be.

Jack really does enjoy playing with them and they can go alongside many other toys and are suitable for both girls and boys of all ages.

A great item which deserves 5 out of 5 stars and a high recommendation.

Many thanks for taking the time to read.

I do hope that this has been of some help/interest to you.

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A BRILLIANT SET.

During early childhood, all children will go through a phase of loving to be involved in a role play game. It stimulates their creative learning and helps them to develop a better understanding of language plus also encourages their imaginations.

Both my children, (my 5 year old son still does.) loved role play and I would encourage them to explore different characters and environments simply by using different props. Over the years we have been firemen, doctors, zoo keepers and a huge array of other exciting characters.

This is why, when I first saw this chad valley 104 piece play food set I knew that I had a successful and stimulating find on my hands. I guessed straight away, that this would not be a toy that was played with for two minutes before being disguarded in favour of the cardboard box it came in!!

I bought my chad valley play food set in Argos. I believe I payed around the £10 mark for it. However I have had this bag of playfood for over 7 years and it is still almost as good as new.

The first thing that impressed me when opening the set, was how bright and colourful the items were. They were also of a good size, which means that they were not to big but equally important they were not too small and hard to manovure. I was very suprised at how lifelike some of the fruit and vegetables looked. The plastic material they are made out of is very durable and even though it has been well used the pieces still maintain their shape and colourfulness. The items in our set have been chewed, thrown and all sorts and they still look very presentable.

Whilst the majority of the set is plastic fruit and vegetables, sausages,beef burgers, doughnuts and pizza. A proportion of the set is meant to represent tins and cardboard packages goods. Whilst I feel the tins are very authentic, I have to admit I am not so impressed with the cardboard containers. I feel these items let down the quality of the set. The cardboard boxes holding such things as cereal are of poor quality and do not hold up to the constant usage of a child. I found that within a short time, the boxes would fall apart and become useless.

We have used this set for a number of role play games. I also bought the chad valley cash till and the shopping trolley and this makes for a very good game of shops. I believe that no game is as stimulating as a role play game for a small child. We have also used this set to play cafe. Which is one of my little boys favourite games. If he turns into Jamie Oliver and makes millions I will personally write to chad valley and express my gratitude!!

All items seem incredibly safe for children. There are no tiny bits which could become a choking hazard. Obviously I would supervise at all times when using, but I have never had cause for concearn.

I once did a placement in a local primary school and I was amazed that many small children did not know any fruit or vegetables. I believe that not only is this toy excellent for role play, it can also be used as a resource tool in order to introduce children to the different food types available.

On it's own, I don't think this set will capture a childs imagination for long. However I know from experience with my children that when used in conjunction with other props such as trolleys, pots and pans and cashieer till this set is an absolute winner. What is so great about this set is that because there is 104 pieces, there is plenty to share.

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A great set for make believe play

Chad Valley 104 Piece Play Food Set

The well known fact when your baby turns into a toddler is that your house is no longer yours! So many toys and so much mess becomes a way of life and one of the things we ended up buying last Christmas was a toy kitchen and with that food was needed! Down to Argos we went where we found 104 piece play food set for £10. At the time we didn't think of the mess it would make though if asked if I regret buying it I would say no. Our little ones love playing make-believe with all the food and as they are having fun then the tidying up all the pieces can wait until later!!

Within the 104 pieces you have both cardboard items which have to be made up (such as cereal boxes and milk cartons) as well as plastic items (such as burgers, eggs, bananas etc). It is a bit misleading with the 104 items stated on the box as many of these items are things like small pringle type crisps and each one counts as 1 item. These are the worst to tidy up!

The plastic food is more durable than the cardboard ones though can be dented if you stand on it as I have accidentally done a number of times! The cardboard ones are very flimsy and both rip easily and collapse so sometimes sellotape is needed!

All the items are the perfect size for both toddler and young child hands and also perfect size for interaction with the toy kitchens and toy trolley and baskets.

For the price you do get a lot of items and your child has a lot of fun. I fully recommend this set especially alongside play kitchens!

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All in review, make your own mind up

A few years ago my mum had bought my two little girls a play cooker but it did not come with any plastic play food or a little trolley or anything so to add to my Mothers present for the girls I extended it and bought them a play trolley (which I have also done a review on) and this pack of 104 plastic but delicious looking food.

~*~*~*~THE PRODUCT~*~*~*~

This product contains 104 pieces of both plastic and cardboard items, which I think is a fair amount especially for the price but I will get to that bit later. The pieces are quite small and although some people who have written a review on this product have complained about this I actually think it is good that they are small as it makes it easier for small children to handle.

To give you a rough idea the plastic items consist of: bananas, slices of pizza, two piece hot dogs, carrots, two piece ice creams and many more. And the cardboard items consist of cereal boxes, juice cartons, milk cartons, popcorn boxes and things like that.

This product comes in a cardboard box which is quite sturdy. On the front and back of the box, are images of the food of which is inside. The box is very colourful and so very eye catching and would be easily pointed out by a child if it was sitting in the shop at the check out. Inside the box, the food is separated in two plastic bags, the reason for this I am not 100% sure as there were both plastic and cardboard items in both bags. There are various cardboard items of food, which need to be put together, it is very easy and quick to do, and it only takes a few seconds.

~*~*~*~WHERE CAN I BUT THIS PRODUCT FROM??~*~*~*~

I bought my daughters from ARGOS. Just a little bit more information about the product that you will probably already know is that that there are different ways that you can order the product. You can phone the store to either reserve and pick up or get them to deliver it but it is an 0845 number that will cost you a pretty penny or you can visit:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Home.htm

which lets you reserve to pick up and tells you what store has got what items that you are wanting in stock or you can also use the website to get them do deliver which I feel is better as this save you money on a telephone call. But please note that there is a delivery charge of £5.80 so bare that in mind if you do wish you get it delivered.

~*~*~*~HOW MUCH DOES IT COST??~*~*~*~

I would of paid £9.99 for this if I had bought it just buy itself which I think it far too pricey for what it is to this amount for it. Luckily you can buy it and another (selected) item from ARGOS for 2 for £15 so that works out at £7.50 which I think is reasonable enough.

~*~*~*~ADDITIONAL INFORMATION~*~*~*~

f you bought this product and for what every reason you are not happy with it. I had enclosed the direct page below with all the relevant information that you will need take the product back. You can find this at:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Home.htm

A fellow reviewer informed me that lots of cash back sites pay out on Argos orders so you could get it even cheaper! So if you are a member of any of these sites then you will find this bit of information useful and for those that don't maybe think about joining one to save some pennies.

I thought that I would also include information that I got from the Argos website for exact information of what the pack continues so here it is:

I feel that this is really good value for money and my children love playing with it, I think its a great for that extra role playing that completes they're kitchen that my Mum bought them. I was amazed at how much you actually got, although if I am honest when I opened it out it didn't look like 104 pieces but I think this is due to the pact that the items are pretty small, but as I already said I think that's its better that they are smaller as it lets little hands get a better grip on them.

With all products there is a downfall, and if you haven't already guessed what it is the continue to read. As you already know this tasty looking food is made out of plastic. It is quite thin and not very sturdy so if it is accidentally trampled on then expect a squashed bit of food. This has happened a couple of times with the food my children play with which I threw in the bin but there are still plenty with them to play with. I have also found that a few of the cardboard boxes have ripped but nothing a few bits of sticky tape cant fix.:o)

I would rate this product 4 out of 5 and would recommend it to any child that make like to play make belive or maybe even a future chief hehe.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope that it is of some use to you and thanks again for taking the time to read it, it is very much appreciated, and if you do chose to buy this for your child I hope that you enjoy the food they cook you as much as I do lol.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Great addition to play kitchen and shop if you dont mind the mess!

Chad Valley Make Believe104 Piece Play Food Set

My Daughter the Chef

I can not believe that two years has now past since my daughter was born and to celebrate her 2nd birthday she had a little party with a few of her friends - and just to note, I never thought that a two year olds birthday party would be so exhausting!

Among the lovely presents my daughter received for her birthday was a 104 piece play food set from Argos. This particular food set is made by Chad Valley so immediately I feel that it is a good and safe make and is aimed for children three years plus, though to be honest there are not really any small parts which I feel are dangerous for my daughter (inspected closely before letting her play with it all much to her annoyance at me!). Some children of my daughters age may still be at the putting things in mouth stage and not understand maybe that these are pretend food so that is something to keep in mind, though luckily my daughter is very good with this and has a right little imagination on her.

*****************PACKAGING*****************

You generally pay more for the packaging with toys and pay more for the packaging in food so I would have expected the same with this toy being both a toy and play food though to be honest, the packaging is not over huge for the items inside and is a necessary part of the toy when brought. I really hate when toys come in boxes ten times bigger than a toy as it is such a waste, but you don't get that here.

The box is quite a sturdy cardboard box, average with childrens toy packaging. On the front and back are images of the food inside, though a little misleading in parts which I will explain below. The box is extremely colourful and so very eye catching to the child though with Argos it is sometimes a good thing that the toys and other items are in the stock room, though on the downside to this you don't get to see the item for yourself before purchase.

Inside, the food is separated into two plastic sealed bags - in no real order that I could see. There are no hidden packaging or building of the toys to make the child wait which is great as children can be very impatient when waiting for a toy to be built! There are various cardboard items of food, though, which need to be put together, though this is very easy and quick to do. A couple of the juice carton items were a bit fiddly to put together though that is about it.

******************TIME TO COOK******************

As the packaging and the name of the toy suggests, there are 104 pieces of food within this toy which is a fair amount of play toys to get scattered around the floor of your house as my house has now seen - I can not move for tripping over a plastic banana or cardboard cereal box!

The 104 items is a little misleading, though. In the main there are some lovely items of food, both plastic and cardboard items, though there are also a very large amount of Pringle shaped crisp toys - each counting as one item which is a little bit of a rip off as they are very small and technically all one item. This is not easily seen on the picture on the box and really instead of advertising it as 104 it should be nearer 70 or 80 items - even though that still is a lot of items!

There is a large range of food items within this pack;

The plastic items are probably much more recognisable to my daughter and range from burger king type chips in its cardboard container, to yellow bananas, slices of pizza, two piece hot dogs, carrots, two piece ice creams and lots more. The plastic items range from a very soft plastic which can be dented easily if stood on to a harder plastic for the eggs and tomatoes, which still can be dented if pushed harder though are that little bit more durable. The two piece items slot together easily and in the main my daughter can put them together and take them apart herself though does have a little trouble with the ice creams as it is more fiddly to slot the two pieces together even for me.

There are less cardboard items of food, though still a good amount. These, of course, are less durable and as they are thin cardboard do hold the risk of ripping and tearing. They are also bent and squashed easily so do loose their shape quickly if not careful. Items in the cardboard food range between cereal boxes, juice cartons, milk cartons, popcorn boxes and more. These are easily put together with a few as mentioned above a little more tricky though it is not impossible by any means! The names of the food (ie cereal brands) are not recognisable in general to my daughter though she has her own names - there are some hoop shaped cereal and so she immediately calls them cheerio's even though the box is unbranded so children will make what they will with these.

Overall, the quality is about average for toys of this kind though there is a wide variety of different items which is great and above all, my daughter absolutely loves playing with them, cooking them on her new kitchen toy or going to the 'shops' and putting them in her new trolley.

******************MAKE BELIEVE******************

As already mentioned, my daughter adores playing with this food play set. The set encourages imaginative play and my daughter embraces this really well even at the age of two, which is great to watch and play along side her. There is no limit as to what can be done with these toys, from going to the shops, cooking, serving up dinners, feeding dollies, teddy bears picnic - you name it, children will come up with something and I personally think that imagination in children is important - it's a sign of being a child!

My daughter has got frustrated a couple of times when she couldn't put the ice cream back together again, though really that is about it. Although she already knows the names of most the food in the pack, she is also learning the food names that are part of the toy though ones we don't eat at home which is great.

Of course, there is a downside for parents - lots of clearing up - constantly! The food gets around the floor like a flood of water, and already a few things have gone missing probably to be found years later behind the kitchen units or somewhere! Some people may not want the mess in their house, I know my brother in law doesn't like constant mess of toys over the floor at his house though me, I say if my daughter is having safe fun then I really don't mind the mess - I can always tidy up when she goes to bed and as and when it gets too much in the day!

***************PRICE***************

Toys are generally so expensive these days though this set is average price which has actually been lowered once again recently. In the main Argos catalogue this set is down as £9.99 and is also in the two for £15 range which covers quite a few different toys such as the shopping trolley, till and many other toys throughout the catalogue in the mix and match range which is really great value in my opinion. On the Argos website the price now states it as £7.49 which is a saving of over £2 when brought alone, but it is well worth looking into the two for £15 range for other money saving ideas.

****************FINAL WORD****************

My daughter thoroughly enjoys this set of play food, and apart from the mess, I think it is a great toy as well. It promotes imaginative learning through play and on the whole is averagely durable - usual for this type of toy. The price is a good price and will give children hours of fun.I fully recommend this toy, especially when under the two for £15 range in Argos.